Since today is about our military, though, try to keep the focus on those great men and women who have served in our armed forces.

See how the focal point here is the cookie soldier being run down and fired on by the chocolate tank?

That's NOT what I had in mind.And finally, you know that feeling of satisfaction you get when a hoity-toity grammar snob corrects your grammar, but s/he's WRONG?

This feels kind of like that.

Quick grammar tip: if you can substitute the word "him," use "whom." But if "he" works, use "who." Ergo, "HE paid," not "HIM paid."Thanks to Margaret D., Amy W., Andrea P., Holly Anne, Andrea P., Lyndi R., & Becky D., for whom [eyebrow waggle] I will be forever grateful. Or at least until tomorrow.

*John's Disclaimer: This was Jen's attempt at a French accent. See, 'cause the dog is a poodle, and poodles speak French. Although he also looks a bit English with the mustache and goatee. Or maybe a bit like Colonel Sanders. Oh! Who was a Colonel!** In the military!

So, in conclusion, eating KFC today is patriotic, and all poodles speak French.Thank you. That is all.

** John's Disclaimer to the Disclaimer: Actually, he was only a private but was given the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel later in life. Man! You guys*** are picky!

*** John's Disclaimer to the Disclaimer to the Disclaimer: By "guys" I mean people, and not necessarily one gender over another. I could have just as easily used "folks." though that would imply that you live in the country. Which you may not. Okay, I'm done.

Actually, Colonel Sander's title had nothing to do with the military. We Kentuckians have a club that gives people title "Kentucky Colonel". My mom was nominated for the title and got her Kentucky Colonel commission.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Sandershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Colonel

Um, actually Colonel Sanders was just a Kentucky Colonel, an honorary title easily enough obtained if you or somebody you know knows somebody in the state government. He was a bit of a self important gent who liked the sound of the title. To my knowledge he didn't exactly set the record straight if the honorifics were confused.

That's a poodle? Really? I read John's comments and thought, "Oh, that's what that is, I should go back and look so I can see it." But alas, I arrived back and the picture and could only wonder how it was a poodle (do poodles routinely look like clowns with exploded cigars?). *sigh*

The "poodle" is actually Uncle Sam. Not saying it is a good Uncle Sam. Not even saying it is Uncle Sam dressed up to look like Bozo the Clown. But if you close one eye, and squint with the other, after drinking several adult beverages, yeah, it's definitely Uncle Sam.

You would not believe how long I stared at that Liberty Bell cake before realizing it was not actually a shirt and really bad pants.Also, thanks for that grammar tip. I'm a total grammar Nazi but who and whom was the one thing I could never grasp.

A poodle? Really?!? I thought it was Bozo the Clown sportin' a goatee and handlebar moustaches. I can see the Colonel easier than a poodle. In any case, these are all very fitting and, ahem, respectful (boy, that was hard to say with a straight face) tributes to those who--I mean WHOM--serve(d) our country.

I love the educational aspects of this website. Grammar AND foreign languages for the price of one.And you may have solved my problem with my neighbor's barking dogs. After 3 hours of solid yapping, I should yell at them in French. Too bad my French class was 50 years ago and the teacher told me I spoke French like a German.

WV jauncer, which is probably French for something I'd prefer the next door poodles not to do. "Otto, Sidney (no wonder the dogs bark with names like that) je ne se pas le zohn-say."

These were...mesmerizing.wow. I almost snapped a picture of a cake in the store yesterday that depicted an American flag but looked more like bacon strips galore, but it was a work of the highest artistry compared to the, erm, "Liberty Belle" cake and Uncle Sam le Poodle.

I don't live in the country (now) but still say "folks". And I said guys as a non gender specific and convenient noun. But I'm weird. I said "soda" for those fizzy drinks in cans. I don't know about FL, but around these parts, those thangs are call't "Cokes". As in "I will have a coke." - "What kind? Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Sprite or rootbeer?"

Are you presuming that us "folks" who live in the "country" use "folks" to describe a collection of people other than ourselves, exclusively? And that people who live elsewhere never use "folks?" Loony Tunes disagrees with you, unless Porky Pig was exclusively from the "country," which I sincerely doubt considering the number of cartoons I've seen.

In fact, Porky Pig was a known adventurer! He's traveled to several places in this great world of ours.

But I digress. Certainly you could have used "people" instead of "folks." Or perhaps you could have said "folks, though that would imply you were a fan of early morning cartoons."

Though perhaps that would have offended cartoons. People are so sensitive these days.

My local Mars had a patriotic poodle cake too, with red and blue whiskers. It didn't look as scary as this one though. The other Memorial Day goodies were the standard cupcakes (no CCC's) and little white frosted sheet cakes with red and blue sprinkles...nothing that would make you want to rip out your hair.

When I heard the french accent I immediately thought of the French soldiers in Monty Phython's Quest for the Holy Grail. It fit much better than an Americanized poodle - but then again, I'm Canadian :)

Loved the humour of the post... and the disclaimer was almost as funny! And thanks for the great grammar lesson.

STILL do not see "poodle" in the clown. Maybe this was one of those highly clipped poodles, so looks as silly as a clown?

(And this is aside from the obvious question of what does a poodle have to do with Memorial Day? A double-wreck?).

Wow, my mind must've really been in the gutter: I saw a male 'apparatus' for the bell/Uncle Sam hat (cake #2), a saggy topless woman with amputated arms for #3, an excited version of #2 for cake #4... and then they saw fireworks (#5). Just what was in my coffee today?!?!?!

Learning that #6 featured a tank, the lounging gingerbread soldiers NOT supporting that poor victim is rather disturbing... and definitely sends the wrong message.

At least the last cake had dignity, if not spelling. Which made it only a semi-wreck IMHO.

I KNEW I liked your site for a reason! I've used that "he/who" "him/whom" grammar trick all my life and taught it to hundreds of other people ... you could almost SEE the lightbulbs blinking on above their heads!

The LIBERTY Bell??I thought it was suppsoed to be an outfit consisting of an ugly shirt and bell-bottom jeans! Though I was wondering how that would connect to Memorial Day...It really helps to read the comments!

Although on first glance some might mistake it for a Liberty Bell wannabe cake, I just love the headless, topless girl with the handless Popeye arms and the sagging (albeit somewhat undersized) breasts, who(m) is wearing the bell bottom pants!

WTF CCC looks like The Funk from the Mighty Boosh!http://henpantha.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/0-the-mighty-boosh-s02e05-thefunk.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_one-off_characters_from_The_Mighty_Boosh#The_Funk

It's late, I spent all dang day buying a new car I had no intention of purchasing today, and the neurotic dachshund we've been babysitting for 12 days finally went home about half an hour ago. But since my WV is ricap (to ricap, it's been a very long and exhausting day), I'll sum up: Thanks for Cake Wrecks, even late at night. maybe especially late at night--that Liberty Belle was one scary sight. My husband and I agree, it's a half-nekkid woman with saggy boobs and a tear in her skirt. Wow!

And if you look closely at the tank cake, you'll see the "soldier" it's mowing down has an orange sailor's hat on. Maybe that's why he didn't know to get out of the way?

Jen & John, are you dudes aware of the book "The Deluxe Transitive Vampire"? It's a great reference for all things grammatical. And funny too. BTW, my goddaughter uses dude not only in a non-gender-specific way, but as both plural and singular. AARRGG!

Ohhh where do I begin?? The saggy boob cake.. the evil cookie cake that is either a firework gone anatomically wrong.. or a perverted mind lol. Now that poop tank running over the gingerbread man is just disturbing but it took my mind off the boob cake for a second anyways lol.

Have you recently been kidnapped by "40 specially trained Ecuadoran Mountain Llamas 26 Red Llama, and 142 Whooping Mexican Llamas?" I'm just waiting for the mariachi music and the flashing neon yellow background...

All we need are the Insult Yelling "French" soilders to go with that "French" poodle. Run away!

So the blue thing is either a palm tree with a bow? Or is it an octopus with one tentacle much longer than the others wearing a bow? And this honors the U.S.'s fallen soldiers because military personnel really dig octopus or perhaps palm fruits various and sundry? I REALLY need a drink now.

that "support the troops" cake reminds me of my discomfort with tank shaped pinatas. I mean, nothing screams patriotism like handing 12 7 year old boys a baseball bat and letting them go ape on a US Army tank, right? (I also feel the same discomfort at pinatas in the form of people...something just isn't right about that.)

OMG! Thank you for the great who/whom tip! I was just thinking yesterday that I really needed a good tip for that one. I think I've got its and it's down... it's hard sometimes to be sure of your grammar when its basic tenets are ignored so widely!

My rule of thumb is that you should use "whom" whenever the word "to" could be added to the sentence. For example, you could say, "Whom did I pay the money TO?" You use "whom" when something is done TO someone, whereas you use "who" when you're discussing who actually did the thing being done. I.e., it's a question of subject versus object.

Anyway, thanks to the 1990s Iron Man cartoon, all children should already know this. See the episode "Enemy Within, Enemy Without." While learning the origin of MODOK, we also receive a grammar lesson. But I won't tell you where in the episode, because then you won't watch the whole thing. ;)Part 1: herePart 2: herePart 2:

Search This Blog

Wreck the Halls

NEW! Pre-Order Today!

Buy the Book

Buy the NYT Bestseller

What's a Wreck?

What's a Wreck?

A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places.

order

Where's the book?

We don’t have any copies of Cake Wrecks for sale here, autographed or otherwise. We decided the shipping and handling costs would be too high to make it worth your while. So instead, buy your copies locally or online and then order personalized bookplates: it’s cheaper, easier, and I think even looks a bit nicer.

Ordering Info

Payments must be made through Paypal, which accepts all major credit cards. Sorry, but that means no checks or MOs or barter-based chickens.

We ship everything first class USPS, and will do our best to have your package in the mail within 2 days of your order.